Expansible frame.



. (Application lllled June 10, 1901.) (No Model.) Y

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nnllllll-Illllil ams were co mom um@ 'NiTnD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY A. SEYMOURE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JACOB LOWENTHAL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

EXPAN'SIBLE FRAM E.

SPECIFICATION forming part f Letters .Patent No. 685,695, dated October 29, 1901. i

Application tiled June 10, 1901.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY A. SEYMOURE, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Frames for Pictures, Photographs, and other Articles, of which the following, when taken in connection with the drawings accompanying and forming part hereof, is a full and complete speciiicatiomsu ficient to enable those skilled in the art to which it pertains to understand, make, and use the same.

This invention relates to round and oval frames made of sheet metal and designed to be used to frame pictures, photographs, and other analogous articles; and the object of this invention is to obtain a round oran oval frame made of sheet metal, which shall be artistic and pleasing in appearance, not eX- pensive to manufacture, durable, easily placed upon or around the several articles to be framed thereby by a person not particular-ly skilled in the art, and a frame which will well protect the article framed thereby.

I find it necessary in making a frame embodying this invention, whether the same be round or oval, to construct it of metal stripsas, say, of lsheet-brass, sheet-steel, sheet-copper, or other ductile metal-sheet-aluminium being also Well adapted therefor, and in all` cases to make the Vframe expansible to permit the framing of articles thereby, and the manner of obtaining thedesired expansibility is hereinafter fully set forth.

I have illustrated this invention by the drawings referred to and accompanying and forming a part of this specification, Figure l thereof being a front elevation of a round frame embodying the invention, the frame closed and containing a glass, a mat, and a back, the picture or photograph or other article which such frame is adapted to contain being omitted to expose vthe back to view; Fig. 2, a front View of the frame illustrated in Fig. 1, the frame being open or expanded and containing amat, a glass, and a back, the same as in Fig. l; Fig. 3, a vertical sec.- tional vieW of Fig. l, showing the relative position of the mat, the glass, and the back or 4backing contained in the frame and show- Serial No. 64,011. (No model.)

ing also a lateral sectional View of the frame; Fig. 4, a top plan View of the ends of the strip of sheet metal from which the frame is madewith the bolt or bent pin, which I prefer to use to det-achably hold the ends of the strip together, also shown, such ends `not being secured together; Fig. 5, a top plan View of the ends of the strip which is illustrated in Fig. 4 with such ends in engagement; Fig. 6,an end elevation on line 6 6of Fig. 4 viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows; Fig. 7, a like elevation of the opposite end of the frame to that illustrated in Fig. (ion line 77 ofFig. 4 viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows; Fig. 8, a perspective View of the bolt or bent pin, which I prefer `to use to hold the ends of the strip of which the frame is formed together. Fig. 9 is a view of a modi` fication of the vbolt illustrated in Fig. 8. Fig. I0 is a front elevation of a modification of the frame illustrated in Figs. l to 7, all inclusive, of the drawings. Fig. Il is an atll ditional modification of the frame, and Figi* I2 is an additional modiication. p

A reference-letter applied to 'designate a given part is used to. indicate such part throughout the several figures of the drawings wherever the same appears.,

a. a', Figs. 4 and 5, are the ends of the strip of sheet metal A, from which' the frame B embodying the invention is formed or spun.

B is the frame.

E is a mat which is illustrated inclosed in the frame merely to show it in its relative position with the glass and backing and the beads of the frame.

C is the glass of the frame, and D is the backing thereof. l

F, Fig. 8, is the bolt or engaging pin which I prefer to use to engage with the ends ofthe strip of which the frame is formed to catchor lock the frame together. -An ordinary bolt with screw-threads may be used to holdsnch ends together, if preferred.

G is a hole in the end dof stripA, and I-I is a slot in end H of the strip. Bolt F is U- shaped, as is well shown in Fig. 8, and is inserted through the hole G, and, if preferred, then slightly Hattened, so as not to readily fall out therefrom, but easily turned therein. The endfof the bolt F is of suit-able length .l...a.Lewinntcrnnti....m

to easily pass through the slot I-I in end a of strip A. To join the ends a d and attach them together, the bolt F is brought through the slot H as well as through the hole G and then turned one-half around-that is, the bolt F being in the position illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings it is inserted in slot H and turned into the position illustrated in Fig. 5. The ends Ct a' cannot thereafter be disengaged so long as such bolt or bent pin F remains in the position thereof illustrated in Fig. 5, and the strain on such bolt or pin F tends to hold it in such position, locking the ends a a together.

I .I are the turned-over edges of the strip A, forming, respectively, a bead or torus to the frame.

K K are curved ends of strip A, so formed that when the bead or torus I and the bead or torus J are formed over, as illustrated and described, such edges will come in close contact at the end edges thereof, but will not overlap. Aportion of the end a', having the contour-line marked with reference-letter L, is set out, as by a set, from the remainder of the strip A, so that the ends a ct come together,with the curved parts K K in the same plane when bolt. F is inserted in place and turned to lock or catch the ends together, as hereinbefore described.

M M are ears-at the ends of strip A.

It will b e observed that the functions of the beads I J are as well to maintain the contents ofthe frame therein as to form the crownmolding or bead or torus of the frame and that because thereof it is necessary to open the frame into substantially the form or shape or position illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings in order to insert the mat, glass, and other article to be framed thereby and the backing, and it is this feature of the frame which is referred to by me as the expansible feature thereof 4in the term eXpansible frame.

In Fig. l0 I have shown a frame which is oval in front and rear plan view and not circular, as is the frame illustrated in the remaining figures of the drawings; but the construction of the frame so illustrated in Fig. 9 is in other respects the same as the hereinbefore-described frame.

In Fig. 1l an additional modification of the frame is illustrated, it being triangular in front elevation, and in Fig. l2 a modification is shown wherein the frame is rectangular.

In all the modifications shown it will be observed that the corners are rounded, so that the beads or torus may be formed over in the shape herein'before described.

I have hereinbefore referred to the frame embodying my invention as round or oval because I prefer such shaped frames; but I desire it to be understood that the shape of the frame in front elevation is not an essential part of this invention and that a frame which is rectangular, triangular, or of any desired shape in front elevation having rounded corners permitting the forming over of the bead or torus I and also the bead or torus J may embody this invention, the essential features of the invention being the front and back bead or torus, the expansible features hereinbefore described permitting the putting of the frame on the articles to be framed thereby and on the glass, mat, and backing thereof, and the detachable Ijoining of the ends of the strip of which the frame is formed.

In Fig. 9 a modification of the U-shaped bolt or pin F is shown, such modification being lettered F and having the upset end f and arm j".

Having thus described my invention, the manner of using the same, and the operation of the frame embodying the same, whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

l. As a new article of manufacture a frame comprising a stripof sheet metal with the edges thereof formed into a bead or torus, respectively, and means for attaching the ends ot' the strip together and for detaching such ends: substantially as specified.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a frame comprising a strip of sheet metal, with the ends of the strip provided with ears, one of such ears set out so that the remainder of the ends are in the same plane, and with the respective sides of the strip formed into a bead or torus, and means for detachably securing the ends together: substantially as described.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a frame comprising a strip of metal provided at the ends thereof with ears, such ears positioned so that when overlapped the remainder of the ends of the strips abut in substantially the same plane, means for detachablysecuring the ears together, and with the sides of such strip formed to provide a front and back bead or torus, one of the ears provided with a hole therein and the other 011e provided with a slot, and a bolt passing through such hole and slot, such bolt provided with an arm whereby when the bolt is inserted and turned into locking position the ends of the strip are secured together thereby: substantially as described.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 24th day of May, A. D. 1901.

HARRY A. SEYMOURE In presence of- J AooR LOWENTHAL, CHARLES TURNER BROWN.

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